#BBB #warns of new ‘revenge porn’ #scam in Middle TN

Using porn to try and get you to pay big. It’s a new email scam going around Middle Tennessee, and the Better Business Bureau wants you to know about it.

This and other similar scams are sometimes referred to as “revenge porn.”

One person in East Nashville reported they received an email from someone who claimed to have hacked their computer camera and took pictures of them watching porn. The scammer demanded $350 to not share the photos online.

“Often times scammers will use these types of scams because they’re embarrassed and they’ll often pay just so nobody finds out that this has happened to them,” explained Lisa Smith with the Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky.

Other people have been asked to send thousands of dollars, calling it a “keep the secret charge.”

“I definitely think people would pay lots of money just to try and have a clear name,” Nashville resident Taryn Dodds said.

In this scam, the scammer tells the victim to deposit money into their Bitcoin account, a type of crypto-currency that is largely untrackable by law enforcement.

“Never send money to somebody you don’t know, especially if they’re asking for it in a specific currency,” Smith said. “The only way for us to help stop scams like this is for people to report it.”